Tree bark with ivy - a pencil drawing

 

Some months ago during a nice forest walk I made a reference picture of tree bark with some ivy growing up the tree. There were a few branches of the ivy, a lot of the tree bark was still visible. This reference picture was made for later use.

Last weekend I prepared this drawing, by making the watercolour under painting first and after that had dried I made the lines of the branches of ivy, the outlines of the leaves and the structure of the tree bark.

Later, during my presence at the 'Af en Toe Kunstroute' (an Art route not far from my home in which I often participate) I had almost six hours to complete the drawing. Of course I had to talk to the visitors, give information about my art, the route and more but there was enough time to work on this drawing.

Only for the leaves I used a bit of water after the first pencil layer. After that had dried, I added two or three more layers of pencil until I was happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this work and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog. If you are interested in my original artworks, please contact me.

Virginia creeper - watercolour painting and pencil drawing

 

Last week we visited the Castle Ruin of Valkenburg (Netherlands) and one of the things that attracted my attention was this plant in full Autumn colours creeping over the walls of the castle. I made some reference pictures to make a pencil drawing.

The drawing was made but for several reasons I was not completely happy with the result

and I decided to use the drawing (second picture) as a study for a watercolour painting.

For the watercolour painting (first picture) the paper was given a hint of colour, using the colour of the 'mergel' or marl stones that were used to construct the castle. On top of that background I painted the leaves of the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and added the structure of the stones using a watercolour pencil. 

The emphasis of the watercolour painting is now on the plant and its autumn colours as I wanted it to be.

The information about the materials I have used for both the drawing and the painting, the sizes of the works and the availabilities can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Medlar - a pencil drawing

 

Last week we were on a short vacation, this time not only my husband and me, but also our children and grandchildren. That meant I did not have much time to make walks and/or drawings. Reference pictures were made, so I will catch up in the coming weeks.

This drawing was made during our short stay, from a reference picture I made during a nice walk near the 'Drielandenpunt' at Vaals (The Netherlands). We walked in the hills and passed through woodland areas, fields, crossed - or almost crossed - some borders and really enjoyed the walk.

This bush did attract my attention, I had never before seen these fruits. They look like large rosehips, but are in fact too large to be a rosehip. The plant is one of the 'rose' family, a medlar, Mespilus germanica. 

For the drawing I used my watercolour pencils, leaving the background only in one colour (in reality the leaves were still green) and adding water to the fruits, so the colours would be enhanced and so the fruits would be emphasized. This worked as I hoped it would and I am really happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.